Z1360/1/4

Letter (single sheet; first sheet, pages 1 and 2 missing) from Wilfred Hammond to family I have received lately 2 L.O’s & 2 W.T’s. Please send London Mail instead of L.O. as my pal has L.O. & we can do the duet act. Thanks! You frequently ask me to send Field Service Cards but since landing in France I have never seen one yet except under a glass case. I don’t know whether it is a fault of our sergeants or whether it is the shortage in the army. I am writing fairly frequently just now but if I do not always send, don’t start imagining that I have been “shot at dawn” or swallowed an Army spoon as it is an awfully uncomfortable job, writing here & there are a great no. of times when it is impossible. I have written to no one else since coming here yet. We are still getting great fun out of the “Parlez vous, Francais” act but are not making great strides as what will “work” on one person will leave another like a jibbering jelly fish. I suppose it is owing to the fact that we are on the borders of France & Belgium & thus get the two mixed up. We have a fine collection of cheap dictionaries & from them we gather that anything like “pong tiddy, pong pong!” will set the natives dashing for bread. Nothing interesting to write about & we are still manure shifting so the catchword at present is “Smanure”. Yours with love, from The boy who kisseth his mother not, on leaving. Wilf

n.d. [June 1916]

From: 1916 To: 1916

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France, letters, service personnel, overseas (WW1), 18th Battalion King's Royal Rifle Corps, LANGUAGES, , manuring, Belgium